• Audio commentary with director Peter Medak and film historian Sam
Dunn
• Remembering the Day: Janet Suzman on 'Joe Egg' (2017,
17:30): a new interview with the acclaimed actor
• From Stage to Screen: Peter Nichols on 'Joe Egg' (2017,
19:44): a new interview with the celebrated playwright
• Original theatrical trailer (3:06)
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by
Marcus Hearn, Peter Nichols on the making of the film, and a
look at the original Citizens Theatre stage production
• World premiere on Blu-ray

Limited to 3,000

copies

DVD included

Bitrate:

Description:

Playwright Peter Nichols adapted his own blackly comic 1967
Tony Award-winning play for this confrontational film
version by director Peter Medak. Alan Bates and Janet Suzman
play a married couple struggling to come to terms with their
daughter's disability using comedy and cruelty to dispel the
desperation of their situation. This uncomfortable,
provocative film about marriage, children and life choices
is startlingly funny as well as deeply moving.

The Film:

Playwright Peter Nichols adapted his own blackly comic 1967 Tony
Award-winning play for this confrontational film version by director Peter Medak.
Alan Bates and Janet Suzman play a married couple struggling to come to terms
with their daughter's disability using comedy and cruelty to dispel the
desperation of their situation. This uncomfortable, provocative film about
marriage, children and life choices is startlingly funny as well as deeply
moving.

In Bristol, England, Bri's otherwise stressful day of
teaching at a noisy boy's school is frequently interrupted
by his fantasies of making love to his wife Sheila. When he
returns to their home, which is filled with a menagerie of
pets and his darkly expressive paintings, he startles Sheila
by attaching a student's toy spider to his cheek, and tries
to seduce her. Reminding him that their ten-year-old
daughter Josephine will soon be home from care and require
feeding and a bath, Sheila, an amateur actress, suggests
that they ask Bri's mother Grace to babysit, so that he can
attend her rehearsal. Refusing, Bri half-teasingly accuses
Sheila of having an affair with Freddie Underwood, his best
childhood friend and a successful businessman who is in her
theater group. After Jo, a severely brain damaged child in a
vegetative state, is brought home in her wheelchair, Bri and
Sheila pretend that she tells them about her day. As they
have done for many years, they make self-mocking,
dark-humored jokes, and project onto their child a
fictitious personality who is eccentric and willful.

Image : NOTE:The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.

A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
arrives on
Blu-ray
from Indicator out of the UK. This
is dual-layered with a max'ed out bitrate and looks
exceptionally strong in 1080P. The visuals are very crisp
looking tight in the film's many close-ups.
Colors (flesh tones) looks authentic and there is plenty of
depth. The grain is fine and even. The film is transferred
in the original 1.66:1 aspect ratio.
I see no flaws - it looks just as good in-motion. This
Blu-ray
offers a rewarding and impressive presentation in 1080P.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

Audio :

The audio is
transferred via a linear PCM authentically mono at
1152 kbps
(24-bit). There is no credited score but there are dynamic audio effects
in the film. There are two notable sequences with impacting audio - a,
gentle, slow motion scene with the daughter and a latter, aggressive,
scene walking/running on the beach. The uncompressed track exports these
extremely well and dialogue is always clean and clear. There are optional English (SDH)
subtitles and my Oppo
has identified
it as being a region FREE - playable world-wide.

Extras :

There is an audio commentary included with the director
of Joe Egg,
Peter Medak (The
Changling) and film historian Sam Dunn (Ex-BFI Video). I haven't
had a chance to indulge but look forward to doing so soon. There are
also two new interviews; Remembering the Day: Janet Suzman on
'Joe Egg' - a new 20-minute interview with the captivating South
Africa born actress (who is excellent in 'Joe Egg', btw). From Stage
to Screen has the playwright Peter Nichols discussing the remarkable
transformation of his play into the film for almost 20-minutes. There is
also an original theatrical trailer and the package has a limited
edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Marcus Hearn, Peter
Nichols on the making of the film, and a look at the original Citizens
Theatre stage production. Being dual format a DVD is
included and this edition is limited to 3,000 copies.

BOTTOM LINE: A Day in the Death of Joe Egg can produce an uncomfortable
viewing - and at the same time the film is... astonishing. A
heart-breaking subject that the participants can deal with
using carefree humor... and love. We are exposed to themes
of guilt, denial, communication, sex, expectations,
marriage, coping, tragedy, and enduring dispair. This is a
unique and highly remarkable film that deserves its
accolades. The
Indicator
Blu-ray presentation is exceptionally strong and the package
contains a commentary, new interviews and a booklet. This is
the upper tier of
Blu-ray quality - an exceptional film looking and sounding wonderful plus
the appreciated supplements. This is a very special film.
Absolutely recommended... to everyone!

Gary Tooze

August 19th, 2017

About the Reviewer:
Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film
since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was
around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my
horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out
new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500
DVDs and have reviewed over 3500 myself. I appreciate my
discussion Listserv for furthering my film
education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver.
Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our
Amazon links.

Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who
focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I
find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction.